“An essential, timely contribution. Drawing on both professional expertise and lived experience, Brook and Kraus offer a comprehensive, accessible, and neuroaffirmative framework for adapting DBT for autistic clients. The book integrates foundational information about autism and neurodiversity with concrete, clinically useful examples of how to modify DBT skills and overall treatment delivery. Going beyond surface-level accommodations, this practical guide is a 'must read' for DBT clinicians committed to ethical, neurodiversity-affirming care.”

—Kiki Fehling, PhD, DBT clinician, speaker, and author, Northampton, Massachusetts


“Tailoring DBT for Autistic Clients is a rare gem—an insightful, wise, and deeply practical guide that DBT clinicians will turn to again and again. Brook and Kraus present a culturally competent and humble approach that is both comprehensive and easy to apply, making it invaluable for therapists at any stage of their careers. Offering deep insights and actionable strategies, this book meets a critical need.”

—Donna Henderson, PsyD, Neuropsychologist and Director of Autism Services, The Stixrud Group, Silver Spring, Maryland


“[The authors] are deeply informed by the science and personal experience of Autism, and one is struck by the freshness, expansiveness, and credibility of their observations, understandings, and recommendations for treatment. Their impactful acronym, ASCENT, presented in this manual, provides a helpful and memorable enumeration of Autistic traits and is worth the price of admission by itself. Their accounts of Autism, from the inside and outside, make clinical and human sense and inform a comprehensive, effective, compassionate approach to therapy.”

—from the Foreword by Charles R. Swenson, MD, Department of Psychiatry, University of Massachusetts Medical School


“This useful book fills a gap by illustrating the 'whats' and 'how-tos' of doing DBT in a neurodiversity-affirming way. In true dialectical fashion, Brook and Kraus synthesize acceptance and change throughout their work. At the same time as teaching neurodivergent clients the skills to navigate a world not designed for their brains, therapists must advocate for a more inclusive world. I recommend this book as essential reading for all DBT therapists.”

—Andrea Gold, PhD, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Alpert Medical School of Brown University